Keep Me From Dying
by SilverInochi Briefs
Summary: TP: After a murder in the Briefs family, Vegeta goes on a murderous rampage. When the authorities go on a worldwide search for beings with the same defective gene as Vegeta, how will any of the Saiya-jin survive?
1. Default Chapter

Author's Notes:  Ino-chan hath returned, a little darker and dirtier than before.  This fic is rated R for a reason, and if anything involving sex at all bothers you, go back.  This fic isn't really meant to be funny like my as of yet unfinished fic, 'The Festival', so don't expect that of it.  Other than that enjoy, and I'll try to update it again as soon as… well, life allows. 

Big thanks to Jami, who was kind enough to Beta for me.

Disclaimer: I don't own DB/Z/GT.  I'm broke and living off birthday money.  I don't own the song 'Get Mine, Get Yours,' either…. In fact, that song doesn't apply to this chapter more than the chorus.

Keep Me From Dying (1/3) Can you… 

_Put your hands on my waist line_

_Want your skin up against mine_

_Move my hips to the baseline_

_Let me get mine you get yours_

_Hang a please don't disturb sign_

_Put my back into a slow grind_

_Runnin' chills up and down my spine_

_Let me get mine you get yours_

_-Get Mine, Get Yours, _Christina Aguilera

            A muffled, "We really shouldn't be doing this…"

            "Your mouth says that, but you don't mean it…" a smirk.

            Light moan, "Nope, guess not."

            "Hey big boy, calm down a bit.  We don't want this to only go two minutes," a swat and a giggle.

            A nibble and a soft chuckle, "Yes we do, I have a meeting with my mother in ten."

            She sat up, still seated on the edge of his desk, her legs wrapped tightly around his waist and her arms loosely around his shoulders.  She moaned for him as his mouth made contact with her skin just behind her ear, slowly progressing just down her neck.  "I love being with you like this," she whispered in his ear.

            She could feel him smirk against her flesh, "Funny, here I was thinking it was me you loved," he nibbled and suckled on a small patch of skin seemingly demanding his undivided attention, "All well, I suppose there are worse things."

            She slid her hands up his cheeks, bringing his face to hers, "I love you too.  So much," she grunted and furrowed her eyebrows, "sometimes it hurts."

            He groaned and buried his face in her shoulder, "You have no idea."

            She idly played with the hair on the nape of his neck, "I live to serve."  She leaned back on her elbows and he followed, slowly tracing kisses along the neckline of her cami top.   His hands rested on her hips, slipping his index fingers below the line of her skirt and rubbing them back and forth like windshield wipers.  His thumbs traced circles under the hem of her shirt.

            "Mr. Briefs, your mother is waiting in the-" Trunks' personal secretary said, stepping in the newly opened doorway and nearly dropping the folders she held in her hands, "Oh, Mr. Briefs… I'm so sorry…"

            Pan covered her mouth and leaned all the way back on the desk, trying not to laugh at the compromising situation she and Trunks were in.  Trunks groaned and put his hands on the desk, biting his lip, "Could you, uh, please excuse us for a moment?  If you wouldn't mind, that is…"

            "No, no mind," she stuttered, turning back and leaving the door at light speed compared to her entrance.  She slammed the door tight behind her.

            No sooner had the door closed behind her did Pan arch her back with laughter.  Trunks hung his head as he chuckled in spite of himself.  "Way to ruin a romantic moment, huh?" he asked.  She smiled, connecting her hands behind his head.

            "Guess so," she mumbled, "are you ready for the two minute challenge?"

            "Yes."

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Bulma was seated alone in the largest meeting room in the building when Trunks walked in.  Her back was to him, she was staring out the window, but the distinct blue hair over the top of the chair easily gave away that it was she.  "Hey mom," Trunks said, softly shutting the door, "the secretary said you were waiting for me…"

            Bulma turned her chair around and smiled at her oldest child, "Yes, Trunks.  Though had I known Pan had you… occupied, I would have never sent her in to get you.  I believe now would be a good time to remind you that the office isn't exactly the appropriate place for that sort of escapade."

            Trunks nodded, "Sorry mom."

            "It's alright Trunks," she said, standing, "Please, take a seat."

            Trunks was mildly surprised.  He'd half expected his mother to fly off her handle about him… you know, doing it in his office.  The last time his mother had let him get away with something, she was about to tell him she was pregnant with Bra.  He eyed his mother suspiciously.  Nah, he decided, she was far too old for that.  "Is there something wrong, Mom?"

            She pushed the unnoticed piece of paper on the table toward him, "It's a death threat."

            Trunks quickly skimmed the page, lifting an eyebrow skeptically, "This isn't the first one of these we've gotten."

            She nodded, "I know," she turned and looked out the window, "It's just that… I have a bad feeling about this one, Trunks."

            "I'm sure you'll be fine, Mom," Trunks said, gaining that airy, happy-go-lucky smile he'd had since he was a small boy, "I mean, it's not like it's going to cause some kind of mass chain reaction that's going to end the whole world, now is it?"

            Bulma laughed a bit to herself, "No, I guess not."

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Trunks looked up, pausing his search over the contents of the papers in his hands to see who had entered.  The raven hair of his lover poked through the cracks, her eyes lighting up at the sight of him and a smile spreading across her features.  "Hey Trunks."

            Most of him wanted to be happy to see her, yet the other part feared for both of their lives, "Pan, I thought I told you not to come here!" he said, putting his papers down on his desk and turning to walk to her, "I know my mom's okay with you and me but my dad would throw a royal tantrum," he said, pressing up against her and sliding his hands down her arms until his hands entwined with hers.

            "That would be fine and dandy Trunks," she said, pushing her hips up against his, causing him to close his eyes for a moment, "but your mother called my house today and asked my father specifically to not allow me to visit you during work hours."

            "You're an adult, you need your father's permission?" Trunks questioned.

            "Just be happy she wouldn't answer why she was making such a call, Trunks," she replied, turning her head to the side while he trailed kisses down her neck.  She allowed one hand to part with his so she could slide it south of the border, to which he growled in response, "I promised her I'd visit after hours."

             "What did she say to that?" he mumbled against her neck, "something embarrassing, I assume."

            "Of course…"

            He grabbed the hem of her shirt, slowly rolling it up, dragging hot fingers over flesh for as long as he could.  She rolled her head back as his fingers slid momentarily under her bra, before departing and continuing the voyage until he reached the top.  He kissed her softly across her collarbone, barely touching her skin.

            She pulled his face back up to hers with both of her hands, "Trunks," she whispered, "I want you…" He smirked and crushed his mouth against hers in a kiss so hard she was surprised he was ever able to peel their lips apart again.

            "Not nearly as much as I need you…" he whispered back.

            She rested her arms around his shoulders as he lifted her up off the ground.  She wrapped her legs tight around his waist.  She grinned against his mouth as his hands gripped under her backside, squeezing just a little.  She pushed her hips closer against his, "Ah, I see…"

            "Yeah," he chuckled a bit, "feel like helping a dirty man clean himself off?"

            "Always," she replied as Trunks carried her to the bathroom, kicking the door shut with his foot behind them.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  

Bulma was running late.  She ruffled through her bag, digging for her capsule as she stood on the roof of Capsule Corps.  The thought had crossed her mind that perhaps she'd left it in her office, but she was beyond sure she'd put it in there.  This was ridiculous.  You'd think she would be able to handle one stupid little capsule.  No, no, apparently not.

            She was about to curse when she heard a noise.  Not one that would bother her normally, but something about it was venomous.   A rock rolled out from behind the side of the building with the door that she couldn't see.

            "Hello?" she called.

            Nothing replied.  She decided she was just being stupid.  It was that note, she'd been scared over nothing.  What idiot would mess with the wife of one of the most feared men in the universe anyway?  Nobody.  That's right, nobody.  Well, maybe Trunks if he was feeling lucky.  And certainly Goku had never failed to kick Vegeta's ass.  But that was just mud under the bridge.  The point was that none of them would wish harm to her, and no one would even dare.

            But there it was again.  That isn't very reassuring.  "Hello?" she asked again.

            Was that a chuckle?

            A black figure slowly crept from behind the wall.  Bulma's heart sank.  She didn't know that figure.  She didn't know their walk.  She didn't know that haggard breath.  She definitely didn't know their voice.  "Who are you?"

            Another chuckle.

            "Stay back…" she warned, digging her arm into her purse again.  What was it with her and losing capsules today?  "I have a gun…" she just held her hand steady and hoped that he'd believe in the nonexistent weapon.  "You don't want to come near me… I'll blow your head off."

            At some point, she felt herself start walking backwards, until the backs of her legs pressed against the rail.  She was rapidly getting more and more fearful, closing her eyes and taking a gulp.  She wouldn't look behind her.  She'd keep looking right ahead.  She couldn't pretend to be scared; she couldn't let him get the upper hand.  What she saw when she opened her eyes, however, wasn't what she was expecting.

            The bun barrel was at the bridge of her nose.  Her attacker was no more than three inches from her body, grinning wickedly.  She stared at him with wide eyes and sucked in what she was sure would be her last breath, "Sweet Jesus…" she murmured.

            And then, the shot of a gun rang out.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Trunks closed his eyes and gripped the sides of the shower of support, absolutely sure that he was going to die.  Not that it would be a bad death, but it was definitely in his future.  Pan was going down on his so hard on him, even harder than that, he would have been surprised she wasn't breaking any teeth had he been thinking clearly.

            "Pan…" he said, trying desperately to move away from her, hoping to all the powers under the sun that their pleasure party wouldn't be ended too soon.  Did she really have to go and match him stroke for stroke every time?  Just because he made her come already once, didn't mean he was capable of doing it twice in one hour.

            Pan lifted her mouth from him and slowly yet surely dragged her tongue from the treasure trail up to his chest to kiss his mouth fiercely, the faintest taste of what was already threatening to break the damn lingering in her mouth.  "Now," he whispered, "I need you now."

            "I thought you'd never ask…" Pan said, giving him a smirk that would have made Vegeta whither.

            "I'm not asking Pan, I'm telling…"

            "Good…" Pan said, pushing his shoulders down, until he was seated on the floor of the shower, and she slid down to straddle his hips, not stopping before pushing him insider her.  Trunks groaned and buried his face in her shoulder, while she gasped at the feeling of him being in so deep he may have actually reached the deepest he could ever dream of going.

            Trunks opened his eyes and lifted his head, to find Pan digging her nails into the wall behind his head.  He smiled calmly to himself, lowering his face to kiss along her collarbone.  She closed her eyes and moaned, shifting her hips so Trunks could join in her enjoyment.  

            His hands slid to her hips and assisted her in her task.  He growled when she started to purposely squeeze her walls around him, and looked his devilish blue eyes to her face.  His hand went down between them as he started to rub her button with fervor, and he smirked when he watched her face drop in shock.

            "Trunks, what are you—Oh!"

            He chuckled against her flesh and continued to rub her while she continued to pump him.  

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

Something was wrong, Vegeta could feel it.  The air outside was off.  The breeze was almost eerily calm, and something in the nature of it told him he was being mocked.  The sudden sounds of sirens in rushing down the street just… caught him completely off guard… something wasn't right.  He knew it.

            He walked around the gravity room, calmly opening the door of the house.  The news was on in the living room, and Vegeta could hear the distinct sound and changing colors of the same police cars he'd seen before.  His heart, whether or not he was willing to admit it, was sinking to the floor as he watched the screen.  He didn't breath for several moments.

            There were cars all around the middle of the street.  He wasn't sure were the building he could see in the background was, but he was sure he'd seen it before.  There was an ambulance, though there was no rush.  The person on the stretcher was in a body bag.  Dead.  Someone was dead.  Who?  Who was dead? 

            Then, he heard it.

            _This is breaking news.  Tonight, at 8:43 p.m., Bulma Briefs, former President of the Capsule Corporation, was brutally murdered.  He attacker, it appears, shot her in the head at the top of the building, causing her corpse to drop the two hundred flights to the street below…_

            There was never a moment in his life that Vegeta had felt like he was without breath.  Even in the most pain he could imagine, even in his last moments of life, he remembered the ability to breath.  But at this time, this very moment, no breath would come.  The woman was dead.  Bulma was dead.

            The world turned red.  Someone killed her.  His mate, and someone killed her.  No body, but no body, had the right to kill her.  He didn't even consider himself worthy of her end.  She was supposed to die an old lady with her spawn at her side and him in the corner of the room.  Not by someone's gun.  Never by someone else.

            They would pay.

            He always knew there was something wrong with these humans.  He hated them.  He'd never felt such distaste for any other being he hated more in his entire life.  He was going to find the bastard that killed the woman, and every single one of them on the way.   Even if it meant he'd have to kill Dende on the way, he'd do it.

            He ran through the glass of the back sliding doors and threw his fists in the air.  He let out the strongest, most pain filled cry a Saiya-jin had ever uttered in their history.  The reason was simple.

            Vegeta had actually loved something, and someone else took it away.

*  *  *  *  *  *

Trunks came down the stairs to get food for him and Pan about an hour later.  Their shower bang had only been the beginning, and now they were both tried and hungry, as most of their race was at the end of such activities.  Their fridge has never stocked when his mother and father were trying for Bra. 

He walked back through the living room holding two of those sports drink things in one hand, a baggy of ham in the other.  He was about to greet the stairs again when he heard something on the still blearing television that caught him a bit off guard.

And more news on the Bulma Briefs murder case… 

Trunks' mind was reeling.  His mother's murder case?  Oh Dende, the note she'd told him about that afternoon.  He wanted to vomit.  It had been real.  They'd actually killed her.  "Pan…" he choked, "Pan… come here, please!" He sounded like he was about to cry, which he was pretty sure he was.

Her form appeared in the hallway as she quickly came down the stairs, "Trunks…?  Trunks are you okay?"

He stared at her and pointed at the television screen.

A man now identified as Bulma Briefs' lover, Vegeta, murdered the number one suspect this evening.  Vegeta was on some kind of murderous rampage; killing almost anyone he came across.  Police found him dead in a field just outside town, a hole through his head by an unidentified weapon…

Pan watched as Trunks sank to his knees before the television.

Police have tested the body of the dead Vegeta for any evidence of drugs or alcohol.  The only abnormality sown in blood tests appears to be some kind of… unidentifiable gene.  The authorities are starting a worldwide search to see if this abnormality exists anywhere else… 

Pan stared at the screen, pondering the finding.  There was only one thing in Vegeta's DNA that could possibly throw someone off.  She looked down at Trunks, who looked spookily up at her.  They were having the same thought.  She uttered the only thing that came to mind, "Holy fuck."

They were going after the Saiya-jins.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

**Note:  **Wee!  I'm back.  And looky!  This one took less than a year.  Big thanks to those who reviewed last chapter.  That was big of you, since it wasn't on the update page. 

Disclaimer:  Nothing to claim but the plot.

**Keep Me From Dying (2/3)**

_And all the roads we have to walk are winding_

_And all the lights to lead us there are blinding_

_There are many things that I would like to say to you_

_But I don't know how_

_Because maybe… you're gonna be the one that saves me_

_And after all, you're my wonder wall…_

            -_Wonder Wall, _Oasis

            Pan sat on the edge of her bed, staring at the television as the events of the past four weeks poured out before her eyes.  The police ransacking her home, tearing her father from his family then leaving her mother angry and confused.  Goten had tried hiding with Dende, but some International Militia had found him, and from what she'd heard her Grandfather Satan telling her mother, he'd been tortured for the mere attempt of escape.  Trunks and Bra had disappeared, and no one knew where they'd gone.

            The part that was itching at her brain, the only part of it that made her uneasy, was that she too had not been dragged into custody.  Certainly her links to the Saiya-jin heritage were not so small that it would not turn up on a flipping piece of paper.  She carried one fourth of her Saiya-jin Grandfather's DNA and if that's what her family and closest friends were going to prison for, then she should too.

            And Trunks, Dende, his disappearance had bothered her in a way that she was unwilling to admit to even herself.  They'd been a casual thing; no real feelings of love, only physical attraction and a sex drive so strong it saved them from ever having to work on a relationship.  It was, ideally, what she'd believed she'd wanted the whole time.  Trunks was far from unknown for his tendency for cheating as soon as the game had set a steady pace.  It worked well with her ambition to keep a man wondering… You don't play hard to get, they don't like that kind of work.  You play hard to keep, because it keeps them on their toes.

            She closed her eyes as the news footage changed to her uncle fighting and screaming as men in dark green suits dragged him off.  She couldn't watch them inject him again as he went Super Saiya-jin.  The way he fell limp to the ground like a rag doll broke her heart more than words could say.  She'd never seen anyone in her family instantly that weak.  She'd never, in any of their countless battles, seen anyone go down like that in their family ever—they even died with Pride in the Son name.

            Trunks had been frantic as he watched the news for hours after they'd first seen it.  He was unapproachable as he stared at the pictures of EMTs circling his mother's dead body in the middle of the street just outside their office building.  He continuously mumbled about not listening, should have been listening.  His hands gripped the arms of his father's favorite chair as they flashed the movements of his father, killing people as he passed.  Old people, young people, children… it didn't seem that Vegeta could tell the difference.  Pan wanted to vomit, it was the worst she'd ever seen the lost Saiya-jin prince act.

            She'd made attempts at talking to Trunks, but he didn't say anything to her.  She offered him everything she could think of to take his mind off of it, from sex to food, but she knew deep down that nothing she had would make anything right.  Trunks had unknowingly been orphaned in the last two hours and not only had no one had the decency to come and tell him in person what had happened, but now he'd lost the only person willing to openly admit that she loved him.  His life, as he knew it, was probably over.

            So when he'd decided to go and find Bra, she didn't wait for him to ask her to leave.  She just went.  She didn't want to cause any more problems.

             It took a week for the test results to come back wielding a list of names of women and men carrying the gene.  In the week that Trunks had put himself under house arrest, Pan had come to visit him everyday, to help him in the only way he wanted her to.  Physically.  Sometimes he was rough and angry, sputtering out words incoherently about hate and death.  Others he was painfully slow, and he cried into her hair, sobbing about being fully alone now.  There was no one who cared about him at all.

            And her chest swelled every time he told her.  Because at some point in that week, she didn't know what time or what day even, their relationship had changed.  It wasn't just sex anymore.  It was something else.  She'd stay after, whole nights once or twice.  She would sooth him and tell him he'd be okay, she'd protect him from the world if she had to.  He confided in her, he told her things that he never would have brought up before; it was almost like they were more than friends with benefits.

            After her father had been taken and dragged off to prison, she'd been gathered together by her mother and taken to her grandfather's house for sanctuary, were they'd been updated routinely on the status on the prisoners and who they were looking for.  So far she knew they were only look for Trunks and Bra realistically.  They also had Goku on their list, but no force in heaven or hell had been known to bring Goku home if he didn't feel like it.  Comparing this to far worse happenings in the past, she doubted this qualified as bad enough for a voluntary return.  Of course, maybe that was why he was staying away.

            Pan stood up and turned off the television, it was too much for her to watch anymore.

* * * * * * * * * *

            Videl and Pan waited at the table that night when Mr. Satan walked in, his head hung low.  Videl's head shot up, a hopeful glance at her father and a sorrowful one in return was all she needed to not ask.  Pan however, missed the whole display, and piped up in her father's honor, "So?" she asked, looking from one to the other, scared by their inability to speak, "What are they going to do with Dad and Goten?"

            Her Grandfather took his seat rather reluctantly, "I tried my best, girls.  I know they don't deserve it, I know they've been saving the world since you were young Videl.  I even went as far as to confess to not beating cell," he shook his head, unable to look either of them in the eye, "they wouldn't believe me."

            "Don't walk around the problem, Grandpa!" Pan exclaimed, standing up and slamming her fists on the table.  She had no problem giving her grandfather a stare down until he was willing to tell her were her favorite half of the family was going.  "Tell me.  What are you going to do with them, all of them, when they find them all?"

            Mr. Satan sighed, "They're going to kill them."

            There was silence in the room for a few minutes.  Videl appeared to be staring at the floor, though her hand covered her mouth and her shoulders were shaking.  Pan looked like someone had just punched her a good one in the stomach, looking right ahead with her mouth wide open and her face stiff.  Mr. Satan didn't do anything, in fear of setting off two of the most powerful women he'd ever met.  

            "They can't do that," Pan said after a long time, "people have been trying to kill the Saiya-jins for years.  No one's ever succeeded before.  Bullets won't do it, they can go Super," she almost smiled at her realization, "neither will electric chair or gas chamber."

            "None of the people you've fought in the past have used lethal injection, Pan," Videl said, quietly.  She stopped playing with her hands long enough to look her only child in the eye, "And the Saiya-jin have never, in the history of your family, fought anything on this planet without Bulma Briefs there to take care of things like that.  Not even Dende can save them now, Pan."

            Mr. Satan chose this moment to speak up, "I was able to strike a deal with them though," both the women turned to look at him, hopeful, "They agreed not to take Pan, because the amount of the gene in her was so small and I convinced them that that meant you didn't have any of their abilities.  They only went with it because I'm your grandfather.  They'll only let you live, Pan, if you live here under my supervision… you're basically under permanent house arrest."

            Pan wanted to burst out about how unfair that was, but before she could even form the words in her mouth, the butler came walking in a Military Official.  He was a burly and hairy man, who had a victorious expression on his face, "Mr. Satan," he said, quickly saluting the older man, "The World Army would like to report that we have captured a one Son Goku."

* * * * * * * * * * * *

            Trunks and Bra were seated in a cave in the middle of nowhere.  Bra was sleeping silently in the corner, while Trunks jumped at every little sound.  So when there was a quiet rapping on the bolder in front of their cave home, Trunks nearly bounced out the small hole in the side of the cave that sunlight and air came in through.  He came to push the rock out of the way, ready to be captured.

            To his surprise, it was only Pan.  He reached out and grabbed her arm, pulling her in harshly and just as fast, put the bolder back in its place.  He turned and looked at her.  He wanted to yell, he wanted to be mad, but for some reason he couldn't bring himself to do it.  He wasn't sure why, but he could feel harshly at all to her anymore.

            "What are you doing here?" he asked softly, rubbing the side of her face with his palm, "I told you not to come, Pan.  I told you to stay away."

            "They've got Goten," she said, knowing that he hadn't seen the news in over a month and had had no idea of who was free and who wasn't anymore, "They've got Grandpa Goku, too."  She paused and chewed on her bottom lip, "They want to kill you Trunks, all of you.  Grandpa Satan can't even stop them.  They're using lethal injections and we don't have Bulma and I'm going to lose you…"

            Trunks only had a second to wonder if she mean him or everyone, before he moved to silence her babbling with a kiss to the mouth.  Her bottom lip trembled under him, before he slowly let her break away.  He'd never remembered Pan look vulnerable like this before… almost like a little girl who had to say goodbye to her puppy before she watched it being put to sleep.  "Trunks, I'm scared," she whispered, and he knew it was hard for her to admit.

            "I know, me too," he replied, just as softly.  He laced his fingers with him, casting a quick glance at Bra, who slumbered quietly still in the corner.  "Come with me," he murmured, tugging her along into an area separated from the rest of the cave, "It echoes in here," he stated, seemingly as an observation, "How quiet can you be?"

            Pan paused for a minute.  She had to let the thought process.  She knew what was happening.  He didn't want to talk about it.  He didn't want to talk about the fact that there was no avoid this anymore.  If they could find Goku they could find anyone, and Trunks was no exception.  It was ironic how they'd started this… this nonrelationship, with no intention of it going anywhere, and now here she was… she didn't want it to end.  "Silent."

            Trunks nodded, "If I tell you something I promised I would never say to you, would you get pissed and leave?"  He let her hand go, and pressed himself up against her, slowly peeling her jacket off her shoulders.  She stared up at him, unsure for a moment of what to do.  He sighed, "Pan, I'm not sure if it's because I'm dying, or that I'm lonely, or what it really is…" he looked her in the eyes, "but I think I'm falling for you…"

            Pan stared at him for a few minutes, before she grabbed him forcefully on the sides of the face and pulled him down to her.  He could feel her throat contract, as if she were sobbing, and didn't realize until she let him go that she was, "Don't leave me, Trunks.  Please…"

            "I wish I could promise that," he said, kissing her hungrily on the mouth, then the jaw, then the neck, the shoulder, and "I wish I could stay here forever… I can't Pan… I wish I could… but I just can't…"

            She closed her eyes tight, not allowing tears of any kind to flow, "I know.  Just give me now then," she opened her eyes and pulled away from him a little, so she could tuck and unbutton his shirt a little, "The world isn't with us now.  Nothing bad is happening right now," she ran her hands flat-palmed from his waist to his shoulders, slowly peeling off his shirt.  His head came down again to capture her mouth with his.

            He took a grip on the hem of her shirt and pulled it off quickly, tossing it to the floor behind them.  His hand reached around to cup the side of her face, holding her to him.  When he broke away he rubbed her cheek with his thumb, "You're all I'll ever need.  I'd be more than happy to give you now."  She whimpered a bit and pushed herself up against him, cutting off his oxygen supply for now, hands wandering down to his belt.

            "Just for now."

* * * * * * * * 

            Videl wasn't sure that she'd ever seen Gohan looking this dismayed over anything in her entire life.  His head hung low to his chest as the guard shoved his body around.  It broke her heart, because she'd always thought that no matter how bad the world was outside she would still see that Son cheer in her husband's eyes.  His soul now, it appeared, had died with his death sentence.  She hung her head too as he took his seat on the chair across from her, "So they've told you then?"

            "Yes."

            She looked up, startled by the Vegeta-like tone of his voice.  She reached her hand out for the middle of the table that separated them, and held it there, even when he didn't so much as look at it, "I'm sorry Gohan, I wish there was something I could do.  Do they tell you anything else?"

            "Yes," Gohan replied, his eyes shifting to her hand, but he made no move for it, "As soon as they find Trunks and Bra, the executions will begin," his gaze then roamed to a spot just behind her, "Dad's going to go first, since he's got the highest concentration of the Saiya-jin gene, and they consider him the greatest threat.  Goten is beside himself."

            "So is Pan."

            His eyes shot to hers, "Does Pan know where Trunks is?"

            "I'm not sure," Videl said, feeling suddenly uneasy, "I think she might.  She won't talk to me.  She thinks I should have a solution for this.  And I don't.  I can't fix it.  The only one who has ever been able to was Bulma… and she's gone now.  I don't know what to do, Gohan.  I don't know how to live without you.  I've forgotten."

            "Don't worry about me… worry about Pan, Videl.  I don't know how she's going to handle this.  Probably not very well."

* * * * * * * * * * *

            She woke up that morning with her television already on.  Her mother was already awake, seated on the edge of her bed.  She stared forward with tears streaming down her face.  The daughter shook her mother's arm, and as though she'd been in a trance, her mother snapped to.  She had the most pitiful, grief stricken look on her face, as she tried to wipe away tears, "Oh, Pan… Honey, I'm so sorry…"

            "Sorry?" Pan questioned, her eyebrows narrowing, "About what?"

            Videl merely pointed at the muted television screen.

            Bra was being hoisted through an opening between the cave and the rock and handed off to a solider, while several others restrained a massively angry Trunks.  Trunks' eyes were bulging and his mouth was open wide, a clear indication that he was screaming.  His hair had gone completely blonde and his muscles had grown.  The scroll bar on the bottom was a blur to Pan save one message:  'Prosecutions to start at noon today, starting with Son Goku and followed by one Trunks Briefs…'

            Oh Dende.  The two men who had saved her on so many occasions were about to die by something no one could or was willing to stop.  Plans and regrets ran through Pan's head as she jumped to her feet and ran to her closet.  Videl stared at her daughter as she scurried around the room, grabbing clothing and other materials.  "Pan?" she asked, "What are you doing?"

            Pan zipped up her black pants and threw on her black jacket and dug around for the boots Trunks had told her made her look like a war woman on a mission.  She sat on the floor and started to tie them up, "I'm not sure mom," she said, standing and giving her mother on the cheek, "but I'm not going to sit back and let this happen like everyone else."

             Pan watched the sorrow wash over her mother's face as she nodded.  She was about to walk out of the room when she heard Videl speak up, "Pan?"

            "Yes mom?"

            "I just want you to know," she said, her hands folded tightly in her lap, "that the fact that you're Saiya-jin makes me proud in a way I don't think you'll ever understand."

            Pan smiled at her mother, "I'm not going to let them die, mom.  If they're going to take the Son family, they're going to take all of us."


End file.
